Open Questions

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. (Edmund Burke)

New Questions	New Suggestions
Open Questions	Additional Demands
Possible Actions	Jamate Islami's Guru Moududi

New Questions

Why are secret police listing people exercising their freedom of speech? Who is collecting the list? Is this list making the same as in 1971? 11 families have been evicted from China building. Some families were evicted from PG Hospital and were attacked while living in the open. Were these people LISTED? A student listed for protesting the killing of Sony, a BUET student, was attacked later and had his tendons cut. Why is the secret police making the current list of students?
On Wednesday, 3rd March, 2004, why did the student front of the government, JCD, attack the Institute of Fine Arts and burn artwork and items used to protest the assassination attempt on Dr. Azad? Why did they attack general students protesting the attack in front of the Vice Chsncellor's Office? Why are they attacking and hijacking mikes and micropones? Why do police watch and do nothing? Are they protesting the protests?
How can police attack the headquarters of the main opposition party and beat leaders indiscriminately in a democratic country?
Why doesn't the government take action when extremists declare a person Murtad, which is basically declaring intention to murder? Does this mean that the government supports the threat?
How come there are no police in the area near the Bangla Academy where Professor Azad was attacked but the rest of the University flooded with police and secret police? Do they not want to find out the attackers?
Why is the Vice Chancellor ordering police and riot police at the University repeatedly? What is his intent ... to beat up students protesting the attack on his colleague?
Why hasn't the police and VC and proctors responsible for the attack on the female dormitory and subsequent attacks on general students and a university professor not been punished yet? Who is protecting them? Assassinations, attempted murders, rape and other hate crimes against minorities, women, intellectuals and journalists and politicians have increased. What is the government doing in terms of investigations? Do we need to bring international investigators?
Why did the BNP leaders at a rally on 6th March blame Awami League for the attack on Dr. Humayun Azad without any proof? Who are they trying to protect?

New Suggestions

Empower women by making them financially independent AND educate them -- make them aware of what talebanization means for them. Women's Leaders can play a major role.
Force people to choose between Islam and Jamate Islam -- so as to draw moderates away from Jamat's lure.
Try to raise awareness among BNP supporters that Jamat will target BNP soon. BNP is Jamat's road block to power and BNP workers will be used to dismantle their own party just as they are using the BNP to do their dirty work now in mowing down the spirit of patriotism. BNP supporters should be made to realize that they are the stooge of Jamate Islami.
Prevent the government from choosing and appointing the Vice Chancellor of a University.
Remove the police and judiciary from the government.
Watch BTV and write protest letters to newspapers as soon as possible if falsity on some national issue or history or news propaganda is noted. The letters should include the name of the program, time and date of transmission and the name of the producer.
Dr. Kamal Hossain must keep a foreigner (European or American) preferably a journalist with him when moving.
Invite foreign journalists and diplomats in nonpolitical programs fighting fundamentalism. Enlighten them about the rise in attacks on minorities, intellectuals and free-thinkers, cultural activists, politicians, and women.
Bring out a procession after mammoth meetings. Keep speeches short at meetings and tell the people how to prepare for self-protection. People have heard a lot of speeches, action oriented programs are needed.
Ekushe TV must be allowed to broadcast with no changes aimed at weakening their pro-independence stand. Apparently Mr. Dring, a foreigner loves Bangladesh more than Bangladeshis. The business leaders like Rouf Choudhury should back off.

Open Questions

· The Director General of the Bangla Academy, apparently unaffected by the assasination attempt is said to have given a rather vulgar statement. He said that Dr. Humayun Azad had gone across the street and was urinating (!) when he was mugged. How did he see that Dr. Azad was urinating ... was he there too ... urinating? And if so surely he must be an eye witness?

· The Director General said that adequate security measures had been taken for the Book Fair at the Bangla Academy. Why then is there no lights on the park side, opposite to the Academy?

· Why was uniformed police presence suddenly reduced on that specific day and why was the road not closed like always during the Book Fair?

· Why did the police not witness the attack that was so close to the Bangla Academy where they were stationed and attempt to save him?

· Big butcher knives cannot be hidden... men armed with the knives should not be hard to spot and pursue. Why did they not pursue the criminals when they finally became "aware"?

· The University has been flooded with plain clothes police and detectives and riot police... what were they doing when a University professor was being stabbed in the open and in the evening? They can cordon of different points of the university and crack down on students but why can they not protect a professor? What is their job here - providing security or breaking bones of professors and being blind and deaf when professors are attacked by terrorists? Or do they think that making black-lists of people who exercise freedom of speech is what they have been hired for?

· What kind of investigation is being carried out that a butcher knife is discovered the next day by the general people? Was it planted there later to frame someone? How can a weapon be planted in a crime scene which should be restricted and under surveillance?

· Why were demonstrations protesting the attempt on Dr. Azad's life in Narayanganj and Rangpur and at Dhaka University (Wedneesday) attacked by police (and goons at DU)? Again what is their job -- clubbing those who protest terrorism? Who gave the orders to attack the protest processions?

· When the situation is so different in the Dhaka University with rallies and processions all over, why are the police letting in public buses in through the main thoroughfare of the University -- Fuller Road? (March 1 and 3, 2004 evening) Usually they restrict all such traffic. Who gave the order to allow buses?

Possible Actions

Unending series of programs should be held to protest the attempt on Dr. Humayun Azad and attacks on others nationwide. Teachers and students on a nonpolitical platform must lead this. This should be action oriented and not end in speeches alone.
Along with the teachers, the doctors, engineers, lawyers, human rights activists, foreign diplomats and media, Dr. Kamal Hossain, Dr. Dr. Bodruddoza Choudhury, minority leaders, leaders of the different tribes, Adamjee workers and all affected people, victims of terrorism and repression should be brought onto the same platform.
Add the 11 evicted from China building to the above. Bring in the people whose slum dwelling have been burned down.
The platform should be the same and any rally, procession should be united and led by NONPOLITICAL leaders of society.
The goal should not just be government change but change in the total infrastructure -- government, bureaucracy, education, and economy.
An unprecedented demand could be made and probably no political party of any country would accept this demand: The police should be taken away from the Home Ministry and put under command of the Court that is INDEPENDENT of the government. (NOVO)

Additional Demands Open to Teachers and People

The resignation of Director General of the Bangla Academy who failed to provide security and seems unaffected (see above).
The resignation of the Vice Chancellor who has no control over security of the University and the Vice Chancelor's post should be made nonpolitical and the appointment of VC should not be done by the government.
Punishment of the law enforcing officers who were stationed there and failed to provide security.

The police at Dhaka University are there to intimidate and even maim students and teachers but not there for their security. They police should be withdrawn and replaced with a security force directly under the control of the university authorities.
The Blue Panel, White Panel and the Pink Panel should be abolished to end the politicization of the University teachers which is destroying the University.
The attackers of Dr. Anwar Hossain (Biochemistry) and Dr. Kamal Hossain and all others must be brought to justice as well.
Investigate the war-criminals in the parliament who had targeted Dr. Humayun Azad.
Investigate terror links of those demanding the blasphemy law.
Reopen trial of war-criminals of 1971 or accept the Gono Adalot verdict.
Admit the presence of extremist fundamentalist groups and cleanse the nation immediately. Use the BDR against them and not against the people.
Bring an international NEUTRAL group to investigate the attack on Dr. Azad and ALL the other icons of free-thinking.
Create atmosphere for free cultural activities without fear of attack from fundamentalists.
Introduce the capital punishment for rape which is becoming too common.

from Che, Ranga and Rikkho

Let people know that we are not Anti Islamic but Anti JamateIslamic! Anti MaududiIslamic!

Ask them to distinguish between the two.

Abul ala Moududi was educated in secular schools, and had no formal religious or theological schooling. He was a 20th century charlatan, just as his ill-educated 18th century Guru Ibn Wahhab was. All the elite of India's educated Islamic ulema rejected Moududi's writings of the time. We should remind ourselves that the intrepid crook, Ibn Wahhab, was kicked out of his community for preaching hatred and inhumanity, and would have been dumped in the dumpster of history had he not joined up by the highway brigand, Ibn Saud, the Emir of Nejd. After he made the unholy alliance with Ibn Saud with a contract that was sealed by marriage, Wahhab's brother and father, who was an educated religious man, disowned him.

It is the King Faisal Institute from Medina Munawwar who is now promoting Moududi's heinous brand of political Islam. This Indian-born charlatan is now completely Arabized/ Saudiized and translated in 50 languages and disseminated all over the world.

Moududi's writings are an abomination, and the Bangladeshi alem samaj have voiced their strong disaproval of his hatred-filled teachings.

Why are people supporting Moududi without even having read the hateful material? Is it because the lethal combination of religion mixed up with intolerance of other faiths and creed, and hatred of women is such a heady brew that it cannot be resisted?

Regards

Farida Majid

(From Muktomona)

PS Moududi is the ideological guru of Jamate Islami.

Dr. Kamal Hossain's Oikyo Procheshta

Is 1971 Back? Repression, Attacks and Killings of Noted Personalities

The New Revolution

Open Questions, Possible Actions and Additional Demands

Pictures from February 29th, 2004

Pictures from March 1st, 2004

Pictures from March 3rd, 2004

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